The rupee rose by 10 paise to close at 88.69 against the US dollar

The rupee appreciated 10 paise to close at 88.69 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, thanks to strength in domestic markets and general weakness in crude oil prices.

Forex traders said the rupee rose on strong domestic markets and a decline in commodity prices.

Central bank intervention also supported the domestic currency. However, a strong US dollar put an end to sharp gains, they added.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 88.80 and traded between 88.50 and 88.80 before settling at 88.69 (provisional), 10 paise higher than the previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee closed at 88.79 against the dollar.

“We expect the rupee to trade on a positive bias towards strength in domestic markets and broad-based weakness in crude oil prices. The US government shutdown and increasing chances of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve could further strengthen the rupee,” said Anuj Choudhary, research analyst, currencies and commodities, Mirae Asset ShareKhan. Choudhary further added that “a strong US dollar and importer demand for dollars could cap a sharp rise. The USD-INR spot price is expected to fluctuate in a range of 88.40 to 88.85.” Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.21 percent lower at 99.32 as demand for dollars from the safe haven continues to support the greenback.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was 0.61 percent lower at $64.85 per barrel in futures trading.

In the domestic equity market, the sensitive index Sensex rose 328.72 points, up 0.40 percent to 82,500.82, while the Nifty rose 103.55 points or 0.41 percent to 25,285.35.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,308.16 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.